


Across the Sea

by thefrenchmilitary



Category: The Maze Runner (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-28
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-05-15 02:02:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14781500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefrenchmilitary/pseuds/thefrenchmilitary
Summary: Issac is the son of a Duke who's life is thrown off track when a gang of local thieves and murderers break into the castle during a ball and run off with a large sum of stolen wealth. He hatches a plan to catch these thieves with the help of Prince Alby and Frypan, one of the castle cooks. The plan backfires as all three boys are kidnapped by the thieves and taken across the sea.





	1. The Diary

“Why did we come down here again?” 

Chuck gave a sick glance to the dust covered shelves. It looked like no one in the museum had bothered to clean this place in ages.

“Ms. Paige said that this place is supposed to have really old historical records. I want to find them,” Thomas said while he skimmed over some papers.

“Why? Who cares about some dumb old records?”

Thomas set down the file he was holding. “Will you just help me look? You never know, we might find something interesting.”

Chuck rolled his eyes and began shuffling through some papers. He frowned after reading a few titles: population census, a peace treaty, trading records, another census. Why did he let Thomas drag him into this?

“Hey Chuck, check this out.”

Thomas held up a large packet that was bound together by a weak string. He carefully opened it and began reading:

“‘I wasn’t sure how this would all work out. Even now there are several uncertainties in my life. I suppose it’d be best to go back and tell everything from the beginning.’”

“Is this some kind of diary,” Chuck asked with a raised brow.

“I think so. I’ll keep reading: ‘My father was a high ranking Duke and the closest friend of the King. Because of his loyalty, he was given the largest duchy in the kingdom; a duchy that I would someday take over. Of course, life seemed to have different plans for me. Everything began changing when I met...”

Chuck gently shook Thomas, urging him to go on. “Who? Met who?”

“It doesn’t say. I think the name was scratched off.”

“Figures. Keep reading, I want to know what happened.”


	2. Preparations

Isaac leaned against the large door, desperately trying to hear what his father was saying. He had been summoned by the King to help his advisers settle a dispute with a neighboring kingdom. Naturally, Isaac was dragged along, but he wasn’t allowed in the discussion chamber.

“Come on, come on! Why can’t you people speak up?”

He smashed his ear to the door and closed his eyes. He could make out a few faint whispers, some quills running along parchment. Someone inside was pacing back and forth and then there was deep reprimanding voice --- the men were arguing back and forth over what to do.

“Well isn't this an unseemly sight.”

Isaac jumped back and turned towards the voice. He relaxed when he saw it was Alby, his closest friend and the King’s son.

“Maybe you should mind your own bloody business,” Isaac said with a smile. Alby shrugged.

“I’m not the one eavesdropping. Maybe you should take your own advice," Alby countered. "I came to tell you that I need help testing a few new dishes for tomorrow."

The King had been planning a grand ball for quite some time. Supposedly, nobility from all over the globe were going to attend. It was the King’s way of buttering up other nations to continue trading with him.

“I’ll race you to the kitchen,” Isaac said while getting into a sprinting position.

“Why does everything have to be a race? You always win,” Alby said with a frown.

“I know. That’s why I like doing it.”

Alby shook his head. “Fine, but this is the last time.”

The boys took off down the corridor. Naturally, Isaac was in the lead, but Alby was determined to beat him. He urged his legs to move faster until he was only a few paces behind Isaac.

Sensing that the he was catching up, Isaac ran at full force, easily leaving the Prince behind. Once he reached the kitchen he leaned against a nearby pillar and waited for his friend. Soon enough Alby appeared tired and out of breath.

“So, I believe that’s twenty seven wins for me and none for you,” Isaac said with a smirk. Alby playfully punched his shoulders.

“Be quiet and help me taste the food.”

The boys entered the kitchen and walked over to the table where the cooks were putting the last few ingredients on the new dishes. Upon seeing them, the kitchen staff bowed respectfully and let the boys approach. 

"These are what will be served at the ball tomorrow night?"

One of the cooks stepped forward. "Yes, your Highness. We hope they are to your liking."

Nodding, Alby waved the staff away. "Issac and I will let you know what we think once we're finished."

The staff gave one last bow and went back to their stations, except for one young cook.

"Remember, if you don't like them I'll be more than happy to eat them for you."

Issac smiled teasingly. "I don't know Frypan, shouldn't you be watching your weight? How many leftovers of ours have you been eating?"

The cook, Frypan, looked down at his stomach. "This is just a bit of baby fat."

Alby scoffed. "Of course."

Neither of them could remember when it happened, but somehow Issac and Alby ended up befriending this young cook. They were all around the same age and their personalities went well together. Over the years the bond between them had gotten very strong.

"Hey, you two should be happy you have a strong guy like me around. Who else is going to protect you if something bad happens?" Frypan let out a chuckle as he asked his question. "I'd say you should give me as much nutritional value as possible."

Issac laughed while shoving a forkful of the first dish into his mouth. "Aren't the guards the ones who are supposed to protect us?"

Frypan shook his head with a smile. "You two never let me win anything."

As Frypan walked back to his station, Issac and Alby began sampling each dish. 

"This second dish could stand to have a few almonds," Alby critiqued.

"I'll let the head chef know," Issac assured him. 

The boys continued to look over the ball preparations for the rest of the day. At the same time, a group of peasants were making plans of their own.


	3. Scheme

(Y/n) disinterestedly stared at the wall as Gally arm wrestled another poor soul. She wrinkled her nose in disgust and leaned back in her chair. She absolutely hated this stupid pub, and she hated it even more when she had to babysit this slinthead.

“Ughhhhh, ha!”

The sound of skin colliding with wood caught (y/n)'s attention. She glanced at the arm wrestling table and saw that Gally had won yet again. She knew that it was important for them to make money, but she wished that it wasn’t so boring.

“I knew I should’ve gone with Minho,” she muttered before cramming a handful of berries into her mouth. At least Minho actually let her help him. At this rate she’d even settle for partnering up with Winston and everyone knew he had the most dangerous job out of all of them.

She turned her attention over to a group of boys a few tables away from her. None of them seemed too bright, and they were well on their way to becoming drunk.

It was perfect.

(Y/n) rose from her seat and walked towards their table. Her hand reached out and skillfully retrieved the bag of coins that was wrapped around one of the boy’s hips. She made sure not to make any noise as she went over to the bartender.

Placing a few coins on the counter, she ordered the usual. The man nodded and quickly made the drink. She took it and walked over to Gally’s table.

“Here,” she shoved the drink in his hands. “I’ve had enough of this place. Can we go now?”

“Hold on let me just---”

“Now Gally!”

Gally rolled his eyes and got up. “Stupid shank,” he muttered before taking his money and leaving. (Y/n) smiled and followed him out the door.

“Next time you’re staying with Clint and Jeff. You never let me finish my work,” Gally said angrily once they were a good distance from the pub. Now it was (y/n)'s turn to roll her eyes. At least Clint and Jeff were good company.

“We really need to get you some anger management,” she muttered as they continued their way home.

They made sure no one was behind them as the took a back road through the alleyway. After jumping through a poorly made wooden fence, they prepared to enter the run down hut they called home.

Just as they were getting ready to enter, a voice stopped them.

“There you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you shanks!”

(Y/n) turned around and saw Minho jogging up to them.

“Winston got back a while ago. Everyone’s waiting for you two,” Minho said once he caught up with them.

“Well you found us,” (y/n) said, “Let’s head inside.”

Ducking through the curtain of cloth they called a door, (y/n) entered the one room hut to find Winston sitting between Clint and Jeff.

“You need to be more careful,” Clint ordered while cleaning up Winston’s cuts.

“Hey, it isn’t exactly easy to be careful when your job includes slitting throats,” Winton countered. Jeff searched his bag for some gauze and scoffed.

“Well try dodging their knives next time.”

“You think I didn’t try?!”

“Woah, someone’s cranky,” (y/n) said as she sat on the makeshift bed Gally had built for all of them. Minho and Gally both took a seat beside her.

“Shuck, you’re bleeding all over the floor,” Minho observed once he got a good look at Winston. Winston grunted in response, but didn’t say anything.

“So,” Clint began, “Rumor has it that there’s going to be a huge ball tomorrow at the castle.”

“Oh no,” Winston complained, “Killing merchants is one thing but I am not going to kill royalty.”

“We aren’t going to kill anyone you shank! We’re just going to break in and steal some valuables,” Jeff said before lightly smacking Winston upside the head.

“Hey, the poor guy is beaten up enough. Don’t go and kill more of his brain cells,” (y/n) said.

“So what’s the plan for tomorrow night?” Gally asked, wanting to get straight to the point.

“I heard that everyone’s entering from the front of the castle, which means the back should be unguarded,” Clint said while continuing his work. Minho spoke up.

“Yeah, but the inside is going to be crawling with guests and staff. How are we supposed to sneak past them?”

“We’re just going to have to hope we get lucky. Besides, you’re pretty fast. If anything at least you should be able to get past the guards,” Clint replied. (Y/n) laughed.

“And if all else fails we can use Gally as a meat shield.”

“Shut it shank!” Gally yelled. 

(Y/n) brushed him off with a wave of her hand. “Oh, I’m only kidding!”

“So are we really going to do this?” Winston asked now that he was all patched up.

Everyone exchanged glances. They knew the job was dangerous, but they also knew that they needed the money. After about a minute, Minho spoke up.

“Alright. Let’s do it.” Straightening his back, Minho began to form the battle plan. "The first thing we should do is decide who's doing what. We'll split into three teams of two. The first team will infiltrate the ball: one will take care of crowd control and the other has to let the rest of us in. Then we'll need two more people to keep watch while the last pair sneaks around and steals whatever they can get their hands on."

"And you're sure we can pull this off?" The hesitation was clear in Winston's voice.

"We have to," Gally told him. "I've kept quiet about it for a while, but we really need more money than what we're managing to get. This place is one storm away from caving in on us."

(Y/n) leaned forward. "So, what job am I going to do?"

The hut was filled with somber whispers as the six teens finalized their plan for the next night.


	4. Set Up

“I’m so bloody tired,” Isaac muttered from his chair. The sun had set long ago and it was only now that the young man found the time to relax after all the preparations. “Who knew planning a ball could be so exhausting?”

Next to him, Alby yawned. The young Prince was also at his wits end with these preparations. If he had to oversee one more seating arrangement chart he'd snap his crown in two. “I’m going to my chambers. The guest room in the west wing should be ready for you.”

Isaac nodded and starting heading for the guest room. He had worked so much that he was sure he’d be able to sleep for three days straight.

Once he made it to his room he collapsed on the bed. Burying himself under the covers, he held the pillow against his chest. If he had his way he would never move from this spot again. He deserved all the rest he could get.

Closing his eyes, Issac let his muscles relax as sleep finally claimed him. 

Unbeknownst to him, the hours ticked by while he remained in his peaceful slumber. Maids rushed to clean every inch of the castle, the flames in the kitchen burst to life as the cooks made the grand feast, and servants hastily set up the ball room. Several musicians sat in the garden, tuning their instruments and warming up for the long night. Several workers hired from the neighboring kingdoms flooded in to help with the event. The castle was alive with all the energy being put towards the ball.

And none of it managed to wake Issac up.

“Isaac? Are you in there?”

The Grand Duke banged on the elaborate wooden door leading to Issac's room. He waited for a bit, but when no reply came he slammed his fist to the door one more time.

“You've slept the entire day away! The ball starts in an hours time!”

The Duke continued to bang on the door until he heard light shuffling.

"Alright, I'm up! I'll be out in a bit."

From inside the room, Issac tossed the blanket off his body. He practically dragged himself to the bath that had been drawn for him the night before. As expected, the water was cold, but there was no time to do anything about it. He quickly cleaned himself off and changed into something appropriate for the occasion.

When he emerged from his chambers, his father was no longer in the hall. Sighing, Issac made his way to the ballroom where he saw Alby examining the servant's work.

Sensing someone behind him, Alby turned around. “Where have you been? The servants are almost done setting up!”

Isaac rubbed his eyes and tried to focus on what Alby was saying.

“Sorry, sorry, I barely woke up a few minutes ago.”

“You’ve been sleeping this whole time?! I had to cover for you all day!” Alby quickly looked him up and down. “At least you look decent.”

“I would’ve woke up sooner but I worked so much yesterday!”

Alby shook his head and sighed. “Just get yourself together. Your old man isn’t exactly pleased with you at the moment.”

Before Isaac could respond, Alby walked off to tell the maids how he wanted the decorations to be arranged.

Deciding to make himself useful, Isaac took some plates and napkins and began placing them in their proper places. He figured he might as well make himself useful since his absence earlier in the day forced poor Alby to take care of everything himself.

Soon enough, guests started to arrive. Although he still had some tables to set up, Issac abandoned his work and began greeting everyone who came inside. A group of musicians took the stage and began playing an enchanting melody. 

"It wouldn't kill these musicians to play something different every once in a while," someone whispered into Issac's ear.

Startled, Issac jumped back. "Christ Frypan, you scared me half to death!"

Frypan laughed. "You need to be more aware of your surroundings. I have some more work to do, but I'll come find you later tonight."

The boys exchanged goodbyes as Frypan headed back towards the other servers. Not sure what else to do, Issac went off and mingled.


	5. Siege the Castle

“Alright, Winston and Gally are together, Clint's with Jeff, and (y/n) is with me,” Minho reminded the group while they were just outside of the castle gates.

“So everyone knows what the need to do, right? I don’t need any of you slintheads screwing this up,” Gally warned.

“Yup. Minho and I make sure no guests leave the ballroom, Clint and Jeff keep watch, and you and Winston steal the goods,” (y/n) recited with ease. “Simple.”

“I just wish this monkey suit was more comfortable. Where did you guys get this?” Minho asked while scratching at the chef clothes Jeff had stolen earlier. Since he and (y/n) were going to be seen by everyone at the party they had to look like they belonged there.

“At least you aren’t a maid,” (y/n) said while wrinkling her nose.

“Enough small talk, let’s do this. Don’t forget to unlock the back door for us,” Clint said to Minho.

“I won’t. Come on (y/n).”

Minho and (y/n) walked through the front gates and slowly approached the castle.

“Remember to relax,” Minho whispered. (Y/n) shot him a serious look.

“I am relaxed.”

Once they reached the front, the guard posted there waved them through. (Y/n) smiled. This might be easier than she originally thought.

Once they were inside, Minho ran off to find the back entrance while (y/n) headed straight for the ballroom. She needed to be sure no one was wandering the halls. It’d be a nightmare if one of the guys was found by some random party guest.

She picked up a rag from a nearby maid cart and entered the ballroom. For a second, she was blinded by a brilliant light. Once her vision cleared, her eyes widened. The room was a lot larger than she thought it would be. Even the floor shone with a brilliance she’s never seen before.

“Woah. The guys would never believe this,” she whispered. After a few seconds she snapped herself out of her trance. She took the rag and acted like she was cleaning. She kept a close eye on the door to make sure no one left.

“This sure is something, huh?”

(Y/n) jumped and pressed her hand against her heart.

“Minho! Where did you come from?”

“After I let the guys in I cut across the garden. I came in from that door over there,” he pointed towards a door (y/n) hadn’t noticed before.

“Great, there are two exits. You keep an eye on that one. I can handle this one.”

“Alright, I’ll be back in half an hour. That should be enough time for Winston and Gally to finish the job.”

Minho made his way over to the other door while (y/n) stayed by the front. Guests seemed to be pouring in and she was delighted to see no one was trying to leave.

“We might actually pull this off,” she said with a faint smile on her face.

“Oh, good thing I found one of you.”

(Y/n) felt someone grab her shoulder and turn her towards the other side of the room. A tall boy with a small crown on his head began leading her away from the door.

“Some idiot spilled his drink all over the floor and now there’s a huge mess,” the boy said without giving (y/n) any time to protest. He let her go once they reached the mess and she had no choice but to get down and clean it up.

She tried to work fast, but the small rag couldn’t soak everything up.

“Uh, hold on, I’ll try to find another rag.” She got off of her knees and power walked to the door. There was no way she was going back there. One of the real maids could clean that up.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone leave the room and go out into the hall.

“Klunk,” she hissed before racing out of the room. She looked around and saw a figure rounding the corner. She ran after whoever they were and grabbed their hand.

The person turned out to be a tall blond boy. He was dressed rather nicely, so that told (y/n) that he was probably someone of some importance. When he gave her a questioning look she quickly dropped his hand.

“Sir, where are you going? Shouldn’t you be at the ball?”

(Y/n) said this in the sweetest voice she could muster. The boy waved her off and started walking again.

“It was getting a bit stuffy in there. I need some fresh air.”

“T-then perhaps you should go to the garden!” (Y/n) hoped he’d take her advice. If he went to the garden then he’d be Minho’s problem, not her’s. Unfortunately, he waved her off again.

“Even the garden is full. Go back to the ball if you’d like but I’m going to find someplace I can be alone.”

“There you are!”

(Y/n) and the boy turned around to saw the boy from before jogging up to them.

“Alby? What are you doing here?” the blond boy asked.

“Looking for her! Why didn’t you come back? Now someone’s slipped on that mess and even more drinks are being spilled!”

“Oh, I, uh, was looking for the maid cart,” (y/n) said lamely. The boy named Alby scoffed and turned towards the blond boy.

“Where are you going?”

The blond boy shrugged. “I just wanted to be alone.”

“Hey! What are you doing?!”

The loud boom of a man’s voice caused all three teens to jump. (Y/n) watched as Clint and Jeff ran down the hall, followed by three guards. 

“What the bloody hell,” the blond boy exclaimed.

“Klunk,” (y/n) said under her breath. She needed to find Minho and get out of here. “Actually, I think someone might have brought the maid cart to the ballroom. I’ll go check on that!”

She sprinted back to the ballroom and elbowed her way to the garden door. This earned her several dirty looks, but she didn’t care. She need to find Minho and get out of here.

“Minho! The plan has gone down the drain. We need to leave now!”

“What do you mean? What happened?”

“Clint and Jeff were caught. I have no idea where Gally and Winston are, but we need to go!”

“There you are! Here, help me pass out these platters of food,” a black boy said to Minho before handing him a platter full of food.

“Uh, now really isn’t a good time Frypan…,” Minho said, trying to come up with a good excuse.

“Frypan?” (Y/n)'s brow creased, clearly confused.

“I’ll explain later,” Minho whispered.

“Not a good time?! It’s your job! Hop to it,” Frypan ordered.

“Hey! Come back here!”

“Oh come on!” (Y/n) screamed in exasperation once she heard the crowned boy from before calling her. The boy with the platters gave everyone a confused look.

“Alby? What’s going on?”

“I don’t know but you,” Alby roughly grabbed (y/n) by the arm, “Have a job to do.”

“Uh-oh,” Minho said while staring at the entrance. Everyone looked out the door and saw Gally and Winston being chased by the blond boy (y/n) was talking to earlier. “That boy is fast,” Minho observed. It was only a matter of time before he’d completely catch up to them.

“Time to go!” (Y/n) shoved Alby out of the way and started running.

“Hey! Get back here!” Alby called while running after her. Minho decided this was a good a time as any to escape and ran out the door. Frypan figured he had nothing to lose and ran after Alby.

(Y/n) ran out of the castle through the front gate and hoped that the others were waiting for her somewhere.

“Get off of me slinthead!”

Bingo. She ran towards the unholy shrieking that was unmistakably Gally’s voice. She was aware that Alby was hot on her heels and that Frypan was right behind him, but she was sure she could lose them. 

Instead of staying on the dirt road, she took a left and ran towards a small clearing. She wasn’t shocked to see that Minho was already there, but she was surprised to see Gally wrestling with the blond boy from before. 

She ran towards them and tackled the blond boy to the ground. She knew Gally didn’t need her help taking him down, but this was payback for making her job harder.

“Hey! Leave Isaac alone!” Alby called out.

“Isaac? That name is hardly fitting for a slimy salamander,” (y/n) teased before standing back up.

“Hey! Over here!”

Everyone looked up and saw Clint driving a horse drawn carriage. Jeff opened the door and held out his hand.

“Hurry up and get in!”

(Y/n), Winston, Minho, and Gally all ran towards the carriage. Naturally, Minho was the first one in, followed by Gally and Winston.

“(Y/n) hurry up!” Jeff yelled while holding out his hand. (Y/n) ran at full force and was just about to reach Jeff when she felt someone tackle her from behind.

Isaac pinned her to the ground while Alby and Frypan tried to catch up to the carriage.

“Who the hell are you people?! What do you want?!” Isaac screamed. (Y/n) struggled to break free, but Isaac had a strong grip. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Clint turn the carriage around. This was her last chance. She had to play dirty.

She forced tears to well up in her eyes and her voice came out in a choked sob. “Please, don’t hurt me.”

Isaac was shocked to see her tear stained face and his grip subconsciously loosened. (Y/n) took this opportunity and punched his jaw with all her strength.

“Ow!! Bloody wench!”

She pushed him off of her body and ran towards Jeff. She successfully grabbed his hand and was pulled into the carriage.

“Now that’s how it’s done!” Jeff told (y/n) while patting her on the back. She nodded and attempted to catch her breath.

“So now what? It’s not like we can go back home. Once word gets out they’ll be searching for us all over the kingdom,” Winston pointed out. Gally thought for a minute.

“You know, we managed to get a good amount of money,” he said. Minho crossed his arms.

“So how does this help us?”

“It’s time to buy a boat,” Gally said.


	6. Gather Your Forces

“Great! This is just wonderful,” Alby spat as he kicked a patch of dirt into the air. This was the last thing he needed. Once his father heard about what had happened he’d be furious.

“Take it easy Alby. There's nothing we can do now,” Frypan said before frowning. “I can’t believe I was stupid enough to believe that guy was hired for the ball. He just stood by the door all night.”

Alby took a deep breath and tried to relax. “It’s not your fault. What’d you say his name was again?”

Frypan scoffed. “He said his name was Garrett, but I’m not believing anything he says,” he looked over at Isaac who was sitting on the ground and rubbing his jaw. “Why are you so quiet?”

“In case you didn’t notice,” Isaac began, “I was just took a punch straight to the jaw. Man, that girl is strong.”

The boys looked at each other for a second before sighing. They picked themselves up and headed back to the castle. Once everything simmered down they were sure that the knights would be sent out to find the thieves.

Once the boys reached the front gates Alby patted Frypan's back. “You can take tomorrow and the day after that off if you’d like.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Frypan replied before heading off the the worker’s living quarters.

Isaac and Alby were silent for a moment. Neither of them was sure what to say to the other. Finally, Alby let out a small laugh upon seeing the bruise on Isaac’s jaw.

“She really got you good didn’t she?”

“Shut up,” Isaac muttered. “If I ever see that girl again I’ll show her what for.”

Alby lifted his brows in surprise. “Oh really? How ungentlemanly of you. I’d think you’d be above hitting girls.”

“Not after they’ve stolen valuables and punched me I’m not!”

Alby chuckled again and patted Isaac’s back. “Alright, alright, take it easy. I’m heading off to bed. You should do the same. Lord knows tomorrow morning is going to be chaos.”

Isaac nodded and walked over to the west wing. He kicked the bedroom door open before closing it behind him. First thing’s first: he needed a bath. He was covered in dirt and grime from wrestling with one of the boy thieves. He quickly stripped down and was pleased to find that there was a hot bath already drawn for him.

“Ahhh, that’s the stuff.”

The water instantly relaxed his sore muscles and he took a deep breath, inhaling the clean scent of the water’s steam. He let his mind wander back to the girl from before. She wasn’t like any girl he had ever met before, but that was a given considering she was a peasant and he’s only been around nobility.

What had she called him again? A slimy salamander?

He shuddered at the memory. Of all the things she could have called him, why had she gone with salamander? He’d seen a few of them here and there, but he wasn’t sure that they were an ideal animal to be compared to.

He sank down into the tub until the water was high enough to cover his mouth but low enough so that he could breathe. He felt restless knowing there was nothing he could do to catch those thieves. He hated the fact that he had to wait around for the guards or someone else to take care of them. He was the one who tried to stop them. He was the one who got a good look at each of them. He was the one who got punched in the bloody jaw.

That’s when it hit him. No one else at the castle knew anything about the thieves. The only people who did were Alby, Frypan, and himself. Maybe they could do something about all of this after all.

Issac jumped out of the tub and dried off. It was too perfect. He wanted to get even with those thieves and no one was going to stand in his way. He just needed to sneak away and speak to the other two boys when no one else was around to hear. 

With that in mind, Issac sat by his window and waited. The moon slowly moved across the sky and Issac's fingers restlessly tapped his knee. His adrenaline was at an all time high. This was the craziest thing he had ever done in his life and it was exciting. Gone were the days of waiting for someone else to take action. It was his time to shine.

It was about two hours before sunrise when he made his first big move. Slowly, Issac made his way over to the door and peeked outside. The night guard was turning the corner at the end of the hall and didn't seem to notice him. 

Trying to produce as little noise as possible, Issac slowly inched his way towards Alby's room. The closer he got, the more guards he saw. There was no way he'd be able to get to Alby through the halls.

But that was just a minor setback. Instead of turning left towards Alby at the end of the wing, Issac took a right and exited the castle through the side door meant for servants. The door lead to the outside garden and Issac followed the stone path to the servants quarters located on the other side of the grounds.

He had already memorized which window lead to Frypan's room. Balling up his hand into a fist, Issac gently rasped against the window. 

"Frypan? Frypan," Issac called in a whisper. He didn't want to risk waking up the rest of the help. He waited for a couple seconds before knocking against the window again.

This time, there was some light shuffling from inside the room. Issac saw someone light a candle and a few seconds later Frypan appeared.

Issac guestured for him to come outside, and Frypan begrudgingly obeyed. Opening the window, the young cook slipped out.

"You better have a good reason for waking me up," Frypan warned.

"Trust me I do, but we need to get Alby before I can explain," Issac said.

Frypan lifted a brow. "Alby? What kind of crazy thing are you dragging me into?"

"Just trust me. Come one, I can climb up to his window, but I need you to keep watch," Issac explained before taking off towards the castle.

Hesitantly, Frypan followed. The two made their way towards the south end of the castle until they were directly underneath the Prince's room.

"Alright, I won't be long," Issac said. He got a running start and began scaling the wall. A lot of bricks were uneven, giving him footing and hand holds. It was pretty easy for the young Duke to reach the window.

Not wanting to waste any time, Issac knocked on the window until he saw the large mound of blankets on the bed rustle. Alby poked his head out and sleepily looked towards the window. When he got a good look at Issac, the Prince practically flew out of bed and ran to open the window.

"What are you doing?! You could really hurt yourself!"

Panicked, Issac slammed his hand against Alby's mouth. "Christ, do you want an entire fleet of knights to run in here? Keep it down." He looked outside to make sure no one was running towards them. When the coast was clear, Issac relaxed. "I need you to come down with me. It's actually pretty easy to scale this thing."

"No," Alby whispered. "I'm not climbing all the way down there. Why don't you come in here?"

"Frypan is waiting for us," Issac explained. "So come on."

Not giving Alby time to object, Issac began climbing down. After running his hand down his face, Alby did the same.

When they reached the ground, Alby frowned. "Someone better be dead or dying. What do you want?"

"I want to catch those thieves," Issac explained.

There was a moment of shocked silence. Finally, Frypan spoke.

"You're joking, right?"

Issac shook his head. "I'm completely serious."

“Are you crazy?! We’ll never pull that off!” Alby hissed in a hushed tone.

“Just listen to what I have to say. We might be the only ones in the entire castle who got a real good look at them. Hell, Frypan even tried to befriend the boy posing as a cook. We can follow the tracks their carriage left on the path and find them.”

Alby ran a hand over his head. Isaac had finally lost it.

“And what are we supposed to do when we find them? Arrest them? In case you haven’t noticed they aren’t some run of the mill crooks who steal bread and apples. They snuck into the castle, Isaac. They know exactly what they’re doing. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say they probably know how to fight as well. Not to mention there’s six of them and three of us. And must I remind you that our group consists of a Prince who’s never fought in his life, the son of a Duke who's not exactly the strongest man in the kingdom, and a cook who’s only line of defense is a cooking pot and maybe a ladle?” Alby shook his head. "You can't get caught up in wanting to be the hero. The guards and knights were already informed about the robbery, so why can't you just let them handle it?"

Isaac frowned. "They won't start investigating until sunrise. Those crooks could be well out of town by then!"

"Alby's still right, though. Even if we find them we have no way to capture them," Frypan pointed out.

“Alright, what if we track them down but have a group of guards follow behind us. If we find them they’ll be more likely to stick around for a fight. Once they get close enough the guards can jump out and arrest them or do whatever it is they do in these situations. How about that?”

Alby thought for a moment. “I guess they will run and hide if we only sent guards after them...”

Isaac grinned. "So then it would be perfect to use ourselves as bait! Come on guys, doesn't this sound exciting to you?"

Frypan rubbed his neck. "I guess it would be nice to get back at that guy for tricking me..."

Alby looked off to the side. "And it would be nice to get a bit of recognition for helping to catch those thieves..."

"So does that mean you guys are in?"

The two boys looked at Issac and nodded. 

"I'll get the guards," Alby said. "You two get to the carriage tracks by the gate."


	7. Take the Stowaways

Upon Gally's instructions, the group split up. Gally took the stolen carriage to the docks while the others rushed back to the hut on foot. They collected anything that could be of use and booked it out of there. No one wanted to risk staying in town for too long. The castle guards were probably sweeping the streets by now.

As the split off group reached the docks, they all stopped and marveled at the boat Gally had purchased. In all honesty, boat was an understatement. This was a full blown ship.

"Gee Gally, you really pulled through," (y/n) said in awe. The ship was certainly big enough for all of them, and the woodwork was nothing to scoff at. She wouldn't mind calling this place home. 

“Yeah yeah, now hurry up and get on the boat. Minho, Winston, you two are gonna help me figure out how to sail this thing,” Gally said. The two boys nodded and handed the supplies they were carrying over to Clint and Jeff.

“Minho, Gally, and Winston, huh? Nice to know.”

The group turned around and saw the three boys from before standing at the end of the dock. Seeing as they were the strongest, Gally and Winston made their way to the front of the group.

“What are you guys doing here?” Winston asked, his voice filled with venom. (Y/n), Clint, and Jeff shuddered. Nothing good ever came from that voice. 

Discreetly, Minho started pushing Jeff towards the ship. They needed to get out of here.

“Move fast, but don’t let them see you,” he whispered before Jeff started shuffling up the boarding ladder. 

Hesitantly, Clint went next. He took his time with each step, desperately trying to not get noticed. He was about halfway up the ladder when Alby called out.

“Hey! What are you doing?”

And that’s when Alby made his mistake. Without realizing it, he took a step towards the thieves. As far as Gally and Winston were concerned, that was threatening enough. They ran towards the three boys, fully prepared for a fight.

Gally and Winston were a hair's width away from the boys when a group of knights came rushing out from the shadows. Minho was the first to spot them and he quickly barked orders out to Clint.

“Hurry up and get in! Once (y/n) is on I don’t care if the rest of us aren’t on board! You leave, got it?!” 

Clint nodded and Minho ran off to help Winston and Gally. Once he was gone (y/n) frantically scaled up the ladder. Just as she was about to pull herself onto the ship, she felt someone grab her leg.

Her grip faltered and she nearly fell off the ladder.

“I do believe we have a score to settle,” Isaac said while tugging her leg hard enough to make her lose her footing.

“Klunk!” (Y/n) screamed as she tried not to lose her grip on the ladder. It wasn’t working too well considering her hands were sweaty from carrying all of her stuff.

“(Y/n)!”

She looked up and saw Clint and Jeff each grab one of her arms.

“Kick him off of you! We’ll pull you up,” Clint called over all of the chaos.

(Y/n) managed to kick Isaac’s head a few times, but he ended up grabbing her other leg as well. That was when (Y/n) made her decision. If she went down, she was taking this slimy salamander with her.

“Let go of me,” she told the two boys.

“What?! Are you crazy?! Minho told us to get you on here and leave,” Jeff said.

“I know what he said! Just do it!”

Reluctantly, both boys let go of her arms and she fell onto the dock along with Isaac. There was a loud snapping sound as they hit the wooden boards.

“Damn it!” Isaac hissed. 

“Isaac!”

(Y/n) heard Alby and Frypan yell their friend’s name. They ran over and shoved her out of the way.

“Hey,” she yelled. The boys didn’t pay any attention to her.

“My...my leg,” Isaac said in a pain filled voice.

Deciding she had no time for this conversation, (y/n) ran over to help Minho. She pushed one of the knights fighting him over the dock and into the water.

“Come on! We need to go!”

She took his hand and lead him over to the ladder, letting him go up first.

“Gally! Winston! We need to go!” She did her best to scream over the sound of clashing blades. After a few seconds, she saw Gally run up to the side of the ship. “Where’s Winston,” she asked with concern. Gally shook his head.

“He told us to go on without him. Said something about buying us time.”

“What?! But if he stays then he’ll d-”

Gally cut her off. “He knows.”

Gally made his way up and (Y/n) was just about to leave as well, but something stopped her.

“Christ! Don’t do that it hurts!”

She saw Isaac swatting Frypan’s hands away. There was nothing but pain etched on his face. She tilted her head to the side once she realized that his leg was more than likely broken. The angling was off and if she was remembering the fall correctly she definitely landed on his leg.

"(Y/n), hurry up!"

She could hear Gally screaming at her from the deck of the ship, but she couldn't bring herself to climb that ladder. If Issac was injured then it could be a good opportunity for them.

“Let's take these guys with us," she said.

"Are you crazy?! We have to leave," Jeff responded. It was clear he thought the idea was crazy.

"This is a good opportunity we have here! Come on, it might not seem like it now, but these guys might come in handy!"

With that, she walked over to Issac and did her best to drag him towards the ship, which was no easy task considering Alby and Frypan were in her way.

“Let go of me!” The young Duke struggled against (y/n) as his friends tried to get her off of him.

Just as she was starting to lose this tug of war, a fist whirled past (y/n)’s face and collided with Issac's head, effectively knocking him out.

“I’ll carry him up the ladder,” Minho said while shaking off the punch he had just delivered. (Y/n) saw Gally give the same treatment to Alby.

“I’ve got this one.”

They all turned to Frypan who promptly lifted his hands up in defeat.

“Y’know I’ve always wondered what being on a boat feels like,” he squeaked.

“Welcome aboard,” (Y/n) told him before climbing the ladder.


	8. Several Questions

The first thing Issac noticed was the throbbing sensation in his head, followed by a rough swaying motion. Opening his eyes, his looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings: creaking wooden walls, a small desk with medical supplies, and a door that was open just a crack. Sitting up, he got ready to get off the hammock bed he had been laying in, only to be met with a sharp pain running up his leg.

"Christ!" Gripping his leg, he tried to power through the agony. That was when everything came flooding back: the ball, the thieves, his plan to stop them. Panic filled him as he threw all sense of pain and caution to the wind. Doing his best to stand, he limped towards the door, only to be met with a staircase once he opened it. Frowning at his luck, he did his best to get himself up using his good leg.

Which was no easy feat considering how much the place was swaying back and forth. He had to stop to regain his balance with every step and he almost lost his footing entirely when everything took a hard jerk to the left. He was exhausted by the time he made it all the way up the stairs and on to...a deck?

"Where the bloody hell am I?" As the vast ocean surrounded him, a wave of nausea hit him. Wobbling over to the railing, he began to retch as bile came spilling out of his mouth.

"You're awake!"

The voice was unfamiliar, but Issac was too busy emptying out his stomach to look up. He felt an arm rest on his shoulder as a canteen was held in front of his face.

"Here, have some water. Jeff, get over here! One of them is awake!"

Shakily, Issac took the canteen and forced himself to drink. After taking some deep breaths, he gained enough strength to face whoever it was that was next to him.

"You're one of those thieves!" As the realization hit him, he went into a state of panic. "Where are you taking me?! How did I get here?!" He did his best to push the boy away, but the throbbing in his head and his weak leg took the force right out of him.

"Hey, quit it! I'm trying to help!" The thief took hold of Issac's hands, pushing them away from his body. Soon Jeff, the boy he had called over, was running towards them with a small tray of food.

"Guess this greenie has more strength in him that I thought. He won't be needing all these calories," he joked before coming to the aid of his friend. "Come on Clint, he's not going to break if you're a little rough with him."

With that, Jeff firmly pinned Issac to the side of the boat using the hand that wasn't holding the plate of food. Issac did his best to escape his grasp, but it was no use. This guy was too strong for him.

"I demand that you take me back home," Issac ordered between pants. "You have no right to take me!"

Clint shook his head. "If we take you back we'll be thrown in prison, or worse. We're all going to be stuck with each other for a while so lets try to come to an understanding. As long as you follow our rules nothing bad is going to happen to you."

Issac scoffed. "Why the bloody hell should I follow your rules?! You're criminals and you've kidnapped me!"

Jeff rolled his eyes. "This one is a lot louder than Frypan."

At that, Issac's eyes widened. "Frypan is here?! What have you done to him?!"

Groaning, Clint crossed his arms, clearly losing his patience. "Nothing! He's down in our makeshift eating area. He's the one who made you that plate of food. Now are you going to eat so you can feel better or not?"

Finally, the young Duke stopped struggling. "Take me to Frypan. I need to talk to him."

Clint and Jeff looked at each other until Jeff finally shrugged and took his weight off of Issac, freeing him from the side of the ship. "Follow us," he said.

They took him to the middle of the deck where they lifted four flood boards that were connected by a handle. Issac groaned as he was met with another small staircase, but getting to Frypan was of utmost importance, so he wobbled down into the eating area.

The area wasn't much to look at. There was a small wooden counter which Issac guessed is where the food was prepared, and a large table for eating. Issac instantly recognized the other three criminals who were sitting and chatting, but his gaze was locked firmly on the person at the head of the table.

"Frypan!" A sense of relief filled him as he momentarily forgot about his leg and hurried over to him.

"Issac!" The breath was completely knocked out of Frypan as the young Duke all but launched himself at him. "You're awake!"

"I'm so glad you're here! Have they done anything to you? Do you know where they're taking us? Where's Alby? Did he get away?"

"Woah, one thing at a time," Frypan said as he placed his hands on Issac's shoulders. "I'm fine. They've just had me down here making breakfast and lunch which, by the way, you haven't eaten," he pointedly looked at the plate Jeff had set on the table. "Sit down and eat so we can talk."

"Sit? With all of them?" Issac glared at the thieves who seemed unbothered by his comment.

"I know we don't have any reason to trust them, but for the time being they seem pretty alright. It's not like they've killed us or anything and like I said they've been treating me pretty alright," Frypan reasoned.

Issac could hardly believe the words coming out of his mouth. "Yeah, they're pretty alright if you ignore the fact that they tried to steal from Alby's family and kidnapped us! How can you be so at ease with them here?!"

Suddenly, Issac heard someone groan. "Since the slimy salamander is all up in arms about us what do you guys say we take this up to the deck?"

Turning around, Issac saw the horrible girl from before holding up a deck of cards. She, along with all the others, got up from the table and left the room, leaving only Frypan and himself behind.

Sitting down in a now empty seat, Issac felt the hopelessness of the situation set in. "We're in the middle of the ocean with no clue where we're headed and you want to stand there and tell me these people are 'pretty all right'. What if they're planning on doing something horrible to us?"

Shaking his head, Frypan sighed. "You've been knocked out ever since last night. Since then Clint and Jeff have been running around like crazy making sure you and Alby are okay."

"So Alby is here too?" He wasn't sure whether to feel relieved that another person he could trust was on board or upset that neither of his friends had managed to get away.

"He is, but if you want to hear any more you need to eat. The food isn't exactly what you're used to, but I did my best to work with what they had."

Feeling defeated, Issac slid the plate in front of him and took a spoonful of food into his mouth, waiting for Frypan to continue.

"I've heard them talking. They think Alby won't wake up until tonight or tomorrow." He paused for a moment, checking the door to see if anyone was coming. "I have no idea where they're taking us or what they're planning to do, but I honestly don't think they know either. I've heard them talking, like I said. Our little ambush caught them off guard so this kidnapping business was a last minute thing. (Y/n), Minho, and Gally were arguing about us last night."

"What were they saying?"

"Gally, the really strong looking one, was saying they should sell us off for a hefty price. Minho wants to turn us into extra muscle by having us work on maintaining the ship, saying long term work would be more valuable than whatever money they could get off of us. (Y/n) wants to do a mix of both; run a scam where they say they'll sell us to the highest bidder, but after taking the money they'll take us to the next port and do the same thing. All the while we'll be putting in hard labor."

"And after hearing all of that you don't want to try to escape?"

Frypan frowned. "Until you woke up I was all alone here. I figured it'd be best to keep my head down and do as I was told. Besides, they've already beaten us before. What makes you think we can overpower them and turn this ship around?"

Issac was silent for a moment, trying to think of a plan. "They'll eventually have to stop somewhere for supplies, right? What if we try to escape then?"

"And where would we go?"

"We'll figure that part out later. For now just getting away from them is the priority."

As he rubbed the back of his neck, Frypan sighed. "Your poorly thought out plans got us into this situation in the first place. I need a bit more security than 'we'll figure that part out later'."

"Look, I have a splitting headache and I'm still trying to wrap my head around this whole ordeal. Once Alby wakes up the three of us will come up with a solid plan. Alright?"

"Alright."

__________________________________________________

Frowning, (y/n) set her cards down on the floor. "No pair."

"I told you it was a bad idea to bet that much," Jeff chastised as he watched the game unfold.

"Slim it," (y/n) said as she watched Minho show his flush.

"Think you can beat that Gally," he challenged.

Gally's brow furrowed. "Alright Minho, you got me...got me a whole lot of copper coins! Four of a kind! Take that, shanks!" As he threw down his hand, Gally's face shifted from annoyed to cocky.

"What?! You had to have cheated," Minho insisted. "Were you counting cards again?"

"I don't need to count anything when my opponents are as jacked as you two."

"Can you two stop going at it for two seconds?" Collecting the cards, (y/n) began to shuffle. "Now that the salamander is awake it's only a matter of time before little princey is out and about, too. We need to figure out what we're going to do about them."

Gally stubbornly crossed his arms. "Well you two already know where I stand on the situation. Do you have any idea how much people would be willing to pay for nobility? We'd be set for years."

"But anyone who'd be willing to buy is going to be shady. It's not worth putting ourselves at risk. We need all the extra work we can get," Minho reasoned. "Frypan is taking things pretty well and is pulling his weight. With a bit of time the other two will fall into line."

"But Gally is right about us needing money. The little we have won't get us very far and we only have a few more days worth of food. Not to mention the fact that we'll need supplies to keep the ship running as well." Frowning, (y/n) rested her cheek on her hand. "It's going to be hard to steal all the stuff we're going to need."

"And your little scam idea is just as dangerous as Gally's," Minho argued. "We're going to make a lot of enemies if we go through with it."

"Well what makes you think those slintheads are going to fall into line? Frypan is a cook who's used to taking orders. The other two are a Prince and a Duke. They'll be a lot more stubborn and I'm not about to babysit them," Gally complained.

"So what is there left for us to do? Throw them overboard," (Y/n) quipped sarcastically.

Finally, Clint jumped into the conversation. "If you ask me we never should have taken them. Having them here is just causing more problems."

"I know it wasn't thought out very well, but at the time bringing them along seemed like a good idea," (y/n) argued.

They continued to go at it for a long while, never being able to come up with an idea that they all agreed with. Finally, Jeff threw in his two cents.

"Since we can't figure out what to do with them, why don't we ask them what they think?"

"Are you jacked? That's the worst idea I've ever heard," Minho said.

"No, taking them with us is the worst idea any of us has ever heard. At this rate we should all just stop caring about the money and the labor. These guys are causing a lot of problems so we'll give them a choice: be taken to a random port where they'll have to figure things out for themselves, swear loyalty and stay here with us, or be thrown overboard," Jeff finished.

Gally was the first to speak as everyone else was thinking it over. "If it'll get this problem off our hands then I'm all for it."

Slowly, the rest of the group agreed to this new plan and it was decided once the Prince woke up the greenies would be given their options.


End file.
